Third Task
by OppySheep
Summary: Yes, I changed the title, still the same story. I think the title got too pathetic. Anyway, this is the way that I would have done the ending of GOF. GOF spoilers, K? And, I have 3 whole chapters. *grins and realizes she's boring people and walks off*
1. Mazes in the Moonlight

A/N: This is my version of the ending to the Goblet of Fire. It'll _eventually_ lead up to Harry's fight with Lord Voldemort. I don't mind flames. They'll still be used to set the remains of Furby on fire. *grins* Anyways, sorry it's so short. I meant to do it longer, but I needed a new post, ya know? Um...nothing else, but R/R, or R/F! (read/flame)  
  
"So...on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman. "Three--two--one--" He gave a short blast of his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried forward into the maze. 

"My field!!" Harry muttered quietly as he passed a huge bush. "What have they done to you?" He looked at the ground. "And this is where I fell last year." He sighed. 

"Hey, it's my field too." A voice said back. 

"Cedric, are you following me?" Harry turned to see a very scared Cedric. Harry turned around, lit up his wand, and Cedric did the same.

Cedric shrugged. "You're the best, you know that. And...I was just going this way!"

"See you!" Harry said cheerfully. It was best to make friends with him in case Harry got in trouble. Cedric left at the fork, and Harry continued on. He barely heard Bagman's whistle as he pressed forward. _Strange,_ Harry thought. _This path is clear. Wasn't this maze supposed to be hard?_ Bagman's whistle interrupted his thoughts. All the champions were now in the maze. Harry saw movement, but Cedric had only gotten in the way of Hagrid's pets and "just got away." Harry chuckled to himself softly. 

"Don't worry Cedric...It probably only was Artie."

"Artie?"

"Artemus. My Blast -Ended Skrewt. Hagrid made us name them so they would get closer, but ya know, didn't work."

Cedric shook his head, and ran down another path. Harry continued to chuckle to himself, because Artie was always the strongest Skrewt in his Care of Magical Creatures class. He shuffled off again, and met a dementor.

"WAZZZZZUP?" Harry yelled.

The dementor did not speak. Usually they responded in the usual fashion, of taking off their hoods (they wore a white mask these days) and stuck their tongue, if you ask them to. This particular one was irritable. Just then, Harry thought of something that made him feel stupid. 

"Are you a boggart?" The boggart nodded its head. "You're not supposed to admit that, you're supposed to scare me, and you're not doing a good job." It shrugged. "_Riddikulus!_" Harry yelled, and with a crack the boggart turned into a turned into a chicken. Harry shook his head and snickered a bit. He had experience with chickens from Dudley's video game, what was it? Legend of...? He couldn't remember, but the chicken was getting away, so he kicked it and went on.

After many turns and Hermione's Four-Point Spell also being done many times, Harry found a strange mist. He poked it apprehensively, not really knowing what to do. 

"_Reducto!"_ Harry shouted, and the bright beam went through the mist and kept on going. "Idiot." Harry said to himself. It was obviously not solid! Harry wondered how far it could go before hitting Cedric. He grinned at the thought. Just then, somebody screamed. Harry was sure it was girlish, so the obvious choice would be Cedric or Viktor Krum. 

"Fleur?" Harry called out, just in case. If it was Fleur, then Harry would probably never get the chance to go with her again. He shrugged and poked the mist again. This time, he was sure it was solid, but no. After lots of poking, Harry decided to go through, and it was like nothing he had ever experienced. Harry imagined it was like a roller coaster. Dudley had never told him about such rides; every time he would go to the amusement park with Piers or Aunt Petunia, he had always come back all greasy and never wanted to talk about anything. This must have been like one of the suspended roller coasters that Harry had seen on Dudley's television. He would _have _to tell Ron and Hermione about this, and maybe sneak back on the field later, after he had his money. 

Harry was still hanging upside down, pondering the possibilities when he realized that he needed to finish this thing. Harry uncertainly took another step forward, and the world became its normal, boring self again. He fell on his knees and the first thing he did was check his khakis for grass stains. There was a huge one on both of them. He swore loudly, and happily remembered that he had his trusty Spray n' Wash with him. Then, he pulled out the Spray n' wash that he always kept in his pocket (just in case), sprayed it on his jeans, and mirthfully hurried forward.

He hesitated a minute at a junction of two paths and looked for some sign of Cedric. It must have been him, the one who screamed. If the feminine scream was actually from someone of the opposite sex, then Fleur was most definitely down. He took a deep breath and started to daydream again. Him, the little boy, champion of them all. The trophy would most certainly go in the case; Ron and him would have to sneak down every night to see it. He thought a minute, and pulled out a small slip of parchment and a quill . If he was going to do that, he might as well remember. Harry scribbled down the reminder, and jogged forward again. 

For ten whole minutes, there was nothing but dead ends. Harry was starting to wonder why they call them dead ends if the shrubbery that makes the dead end is very much alive. He shrugged, and decided to take a new route. Suddenly, Harry saw something move on his right. He turned; nothing was there. Harry shook his head, this was no time to be seeing things. He saw it again, this time on his right, and it looked just like himself...Harry jumped and ran, only to realize later that it was his own shadow. 

So, what did ya think? This one kinda sucks, but what can you do for a first chapter? Well, this is supposed to be from the middle of page 621 on, that's why the first 2 lines are the same. Oh yeah, and just so I don't get sued (actually, I think I lost my $65 in the wash, so there's not much left...): Disclaimer thingy: Everything (e.g. Harry) belongs to J.K Rowling, and Artie belongs to me. Hurray! I own something! Even if it is a giant grey lobster thing, but still.


	2. Krummy Skrewts

A/N: Well, I guess that I could pull this off in less than a week. I'm going on vacation soon, and I hopefully should have it finished by then. Maybe, just maybe, I could steal my stepsister's laptop, and not get caught...*thinks about it* Um...maybe not. She's going to this college in Chicago for 3 weeks, and I think she needs it. Oh well. If you're lucky, I might get this story done before hockey camp! pp  
Harry Potter was lost. He may have been the boy who lived, but he lost some brain cells in the process. He could have drawn a map for himself and cheated, rather than frolicked around with Mrs. Weasley and Bill. That would have been the smart idea. Harry sighed. He really had hoped the Dursleys could come, because then he could use magic on them. He snickered, but then remembered that the stupid old Weasleys were here and they could do just the same as he could, so it was out of the question./pp  
  
Harry finally stopped daydreaming and turned the corner. Harry couldn't see how Cedric could've gotten away with this one! Harry's heart pounded loudly in his chest. For a while, boy and Skrewt stared. Finally, Harry managed to squeak out 'Ar-artie?"/pp  
Artie gave what sounded like a laugh. "Duh, you dork. Who else would it be? That measly Weasley?"/pp  
Harry almost fell over. Artie had never spoken to him before. "Well, yeah, I was kinda thinkin'..."/pp  
"Thinkin'!?! When you coulda been spendin' time with your good ol' pal Artie?"/pp  
"Artie, I'm sorry...please...I was busy with the tasks."/pp  
"Right. I waited months in that box, with that big oaf. I thought we were more than friends!!!"/pp  
Harry sighed loudly and took his head in his hands. Hagrid's experiment and perhaps the food had given the Skrewt had given him the ability to speak. Harry made a silent promise to himself never to eat Hagrid's food again./pp  
"Well? Are we friends or not?"/pp  
"Not."/pp  
"Why you little--" Artie came forward, claws out. /pp  
Harry tried to duck, but the claw came around his neck and wouldn't let go. Harry gripped, and pulled himself out. As he did, he noticed that Artie's soft underbelly was still soft. If he could aim a spell and make it hit right there, Artie would flip over on to his back. How fun! /pp  
"IStupidfry!/I" Harry shouted, and flowers came out of the tip of his wand. That never happened when Draco did it to him. That hurt, and his hair would get burned. (A/N: See if you can get it) "Ummm...for you."/pp  
"For me? Why, you shouldn't have!!"/pp  
"I know," He replied. Harry desperately tried to remember the spell. Too many hours of playing with words with the voices in his head instead of doing his homework had made him forget the words to spells./pp  
"Uh...um.../IStuperfy, superfly, stupefy!!!!/I" The last one did something. It hit Artie's armor and rebounded at him, scorching the top of his hair. Harry started to rant about it./pp  
"I just combed this hair! Why do all my spells have to come back?!? It's not fair and I don't like it! Aw, do you know how long it takes to grease this hair to at least keep it normal? It takes me 5 minutes! 5 whole minutes!!!!   
I--" Harry stopped. Artie had fallen asleep. Well, that was one way to escape and live a skrewt attack. Harry's ego was bloated. II bet Cedric didn't think of ranting!/I he thought, and proudly walked off after turning Artie on his back to make it look like he had actually done something. /pp  
He took many paths, dead ends, and the same paths over again. He then got tired of taking paths, and tried to cut through the bushes. No luck. They were spelled in this spot, and he got an unpleasant shock every time So, Harry continued to try to cut the bushes down with his wand./pp  
He had been trying to cut bushes to the path parallel to his own when suddenly, Cedric was speaking. Everyone must listen to Cedric./pp  
"What are you doing? What the hell do you think you're doing?" said Cedric./pp  
"Trying to cut through bushes. Wanna try?" Harry replied. /pp  
Cedric ignored him. Finally, Krum put the Crucio curse on him, and the air was filled with Cedric's girlish screams. This proved that the screams heard earlier were Cedric's, and Fleur probably gave up. Anxious to see what was happening, Harry kept trying to cut through the bushes, but this time he tried the Reductor Curse, and it worked! Harry leapt for joy, and in doing so , jumped over the hedge and right on top of Krum, stopping the curse. /pp  
"DAMN!!!" Harry yelled loudly./pp  
Cedric looked at him from his position on the grass, gasped, and whispered "Harry...you're not supposed to say that word in your books! Little kids read them!"/pp  
Harry looked confused. "What books?"/pp  
"Where have you been?"/pp  
"Um...I think there's too many beds and girls dormitories to count."/pp  
Cedric shook his head. "Forget it."/pp  
"Oh. Ok!"/pp  
"Now you're supposed to ask me if I'm all right."/pp  
"Are you all right? There, how was that?"/pp  
"Yeah," panted Cedric, "Yeah...I don't believe it...um...he...uh...line?"/pp  
Someone yelled back, "He crept up behind me..."/pp  
"Oh yeah." Cedric went back to the panting state again. "He crept up behind me...I heard him, I turned around, and he had his ugly wand on me..."/pp  
"Ugly? I happen to admire his wand."/pp  
"Whatever."/pp  
"I wish Krum would've finished you off," Harry said loudly. "Don't you?"/pp  
"Yeah, a bit, but it's not in the script."/pp  
"What script?"/pp  
"Not this again..."/pp  
"What?" /pp  
"You never notice anything, do you Harry?"/pp  
"Neither do you. Did you even notice that you screamed earlier?"/pp  
"That wasn't me. It was Fleur."/pp  
"Nuh-uh, I swore it was you."/pp  
Cedric sighed. "Why can't you just leave it?" Harry shrugged. "Well, whatever the reason, we need to take care of this body, or a skrewt might come and damage it." Cedric raised his wand and rainbow sparks shot high into the air. He gave a small, nervous laugh, fingered at a small necklace, then tried again. This time, they was purple. "Harry...why don't you try?" Harry raised his wand and had no difficulty sending red sparks up. "Well...I s'pose we'd go, before it gets too late."/pp  
"What?"/pp  
"Is that like your favorite word?"/pp  
"No."/pp  
"Why do you always say it?"/pp  
"I'm always confused."/pp  
"Right...anyway, catch you later." Cedric waved, took the right path, and disappeared. Harry felt suddenly alone, but knew what had to be done, and took the left path. /pppp  
  
Whew! Long chapter, huh? Stay tuned for the next chapter, where Harry hopefully meets the sphinx. Will this be the end of our uh...main character? (I really can't call him hero, for obvious reasons) Find out...NEXT CHAPTER!!   
  



	3. THE COMPLETELY POINTLESS MEETING WITH A ...

A/N: Sorry this took sooo long to post! Between going to Wisconsin every weekend (That gives you a pretty good clue of where I live) sleeping, and sewing class (shuttup...my mother-creature signed me up) I haven't had much time. Sorry 'bout that! Anyway, I'll stop rambling and start actually writing! One more thing-I know this is short, but as soon as I post this thing I'll get to writing another chapter. 

Harry kept going, using HERMIONE'S Four-Point Spell many many times. He wanted to make sure he was going the right way to get to the cup. In all reality he wasn't, but still he kept going. He wanted to beat Cedric so badly. He _needed_ to beat Cedric. If he had that cup...more people would go out with him. Can you see it? Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the boy who defeated the Dark Lord on 3 separate occasions, unlike Krummy back there. He's going to get himself a lifetime in Azkaban. The guy he hired did his job, to put Krum under the Imperious Curse.He grinned, and almost ran straight into a sphinx.

Harry, who doesn't get out much, had only seen this thingy in his _Monster Book of Monsters._ How could something so pretty be a monster? It had the body of an over large-lion: great clawed paws and long yellowish tail ending in a brown tuft. Its head, however, was that of a woman. She turned her long, almond shaped eyes at Harry as he backed off. He raised his wand, ready to hit her with it, but she was pacing, and in no position to hurt Harry. He could stand there all day...just watching her. Then she spoke, in a deep, hoarse voice.

"You are somewhat close to your goal. The quickest way is past me." 

_What _has_ she been smoking?? I want some,_ Harry thought. "So...will you move and let me get to your drug stash? What do you have, by the way?" 

"Oh, some LSD, some Marijuana, a little of Bacardi Rum...someone came in and drank most of it...some cigs...why?" 

"Can I have some?" 

The lion sighed. She was not about to give up her precious drugs for a little boy like him. It's very hard to find a dealer that won't run away at the sight of you. "For your information, I won't let you pass now. I'll give you some of everything, more of one if you can answer my riddle in one guess. Your friend over there, it took him about 12 times. But, if you want the drugs too, you have to first give me a galleon and answer correctly. Got it?"

"Yup." 

"Ok then, here it is." Ths sphinx sat down on her hind legs all cute like and recited: 

_"First think of the person who lives in disguise,  
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but...um...never mind...  
Next, tell me what's always the last thing to vend...er, mend,   
The middle of end and end of the middle...oops...nevermind again.  
And finally, give me the sound hardly...I mean, often heard  
During the search for a, er...uh...hard-to-find word.  
Now string them together, and this me answer...no, you tell me,  
Which creature would you be willing...oops, unwilling to kiss?"_

Harry gaped at her. "How'd you come up with that?" 

She blinked at him, smiled a you-should-know smile, and told him "Sphinxriddles.com, of course." (A/N: It's not real, duh) 

"Could I have that poem more slowly?" Harry asked. 

"Nah, can't remember it." 

"And all these things add up to a creature I wouldn't kiss?" 

"Yes, and it better not be me."

"Damn. Well, that takes out most of my answers," Harry said without thinking. The sphinx glared at him. 

"Heh...forget I said that, kay?" Harry thought about it, and was about to say "you," but he noticed a small spider on the wall. "Ooh! Spider!" Harry blasted it with his wand. It exploded into thousands of pieces. The sphinx, who was utterly horrified, managed to squeak out a small yes. "So...where are the drugs?" Harry asked. 

"There, back there...take 'em and go," she pointed a shaking paw behind her. 

"Thanks! You're a real pal, you know that?" Harry yelled, amazed that he got it right. He tossed her the galleon, and stuffed some drugs into his pockets, and continued to walk on. 


End file.
